1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sweeping and wringing apparatus, particularly to a sweeping and wringing apparatus having excentrically mounted sweepers with round cross-sections for wringing a cleaning element and an enlarged working surface, allowing a user to perform wringing more effectively and easily and allowing the cleaning head after wringing readily to revert to a previous shape for continued sweeping.
2. Description of Related Art
As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a conventional sweeping and wringing apparatus comprises: a cleaning head 1, a squeezing head 2, a main rod 3, a U-shaped wringing rod 4, two connecting rods 5, two transverse bars 6a, and two squeezers 57. The cleaning head 1 has a base plate 11 and a cleaning element 12 and is used for sweeping a floor. The squeezing head 2 is placed on an upper side of the cleaning head 1, partly surrounding the cleaning head 1 in the shape of the inverted letter U, and has an upper part, having a fastening hole 21 and two sides with openings 22, and downward extending front and rear parts, each of which have a left arm 23a and a right arm 24a further extending downward, enclosing an opening 27. Through holes 25a, 26a are bored through the left and right arms 23a, 24a, respectively. The main rod 3 is mounted on the fastening hole 21 of the squeezing head 2 and serves as a hold during sweeping. The wringing rod 4 is on two ends thereof hingedly connected with the main rod 3 at a middle section thereof and has an outward-reaching middle section with a grip 41, facilitating pulling up of the wringing rod 4. The two connecting rods 5 are symmetrically disposed along two lateral sides of the main rod 3, having upper ends that are hingedly connected with the wringing rod 4 and lower ends that respectively pass through the openings 22 and are fastened to the base plate 11 of the cleaning head 1. The two connecting rods 5 are moved upward by pulling up of the wringing rod 4, in turn pulling the cleaning head 1 upward. The two transverse bars 6a are respectively mounted on the front and rear parts of the squeezing head 2, each passing through the through holes 25a, 26a of the left and right arms 23a, 24a. The two squeezers 57 are respectively set on the two transverse bars 6a, leaving a gap in between. When the cleaning element 12 enters the gap between the two squeezers 57, water contained therein is squeezed out.
For wringing the cleaning head 1, the user holds the main rod 3 with one hand and, with the other hand holding the grip 41, pushes up the wringing rod 4, so that the two connecting rods 5 pull up the base plate 11, taking along the cleaning element 12. The cleaning element 12, having entered the gap between the two squeezers 57, is compressed, and water contained therein is squeezed out. After the cleaning element 12 has been wrung, the two connecting rods 5 are pushed down to an original position, in turn pushing down the cleaning element 12 to an original position. Repeated pushing up and down of the wringing rod 4 brings about complete wringing of the cleaning element 12.
There are, however, shortcomings. In a conventional sweeping and wringing apparatus the squeezers 57 are concentrically mounted tubes with a gap of constant width in between. The squeezers 57 have relatively small working surfaces where water is squeezed out of the cleaning element 12, so that the cleaning element 12 is easily damaged. After wringing, the cleaning element 12 readily sucks up water again. Furthermore, the cleaning element 12 after wringing does not easily return to an original shape thereof. Therefore, a conventional sweeping and wringing apparatus still has many shortcomings.